Effects of Livestock Exclusion on Pollutant Export From a North Carolina Beef Cow Pasture

Abstract

Highlights Exclusion of beef cattle from two streams resulted in significant reductions in nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment exports. Reductions in nutrient and sediment export improved following four or more years of exclusion. Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in storm samples decreased more than those in baseflow samples. Abstract. Fences were installed to exclude cattle from two adjacent small streams on a beef and swine farm located in central North Carolina. The two streams, referred to as UTA and North, originated in a pasture used for beef cow production and the application of swine waste. Rainfall and discharge were continuously monitored for 1.34 years prior to and 1.8 years after the fencing was installed in order to quantify the effect of the livestock exclusion on pollutant export/loads in the two streams originating in the pasture. Monitoring results documented reductions in total nitrogen (TN), phosphorus (TP), and total suspended solids (TSS) exports via the North stream of 15%, 54%, and 67%, respectively. Monitoring on the UTA stream was restarted 3.7 years after the initial 1.8 years and continued for about 1 year to assess the effect of natural vegetation growth and stream channel soil recovery. The combined reductions for the two periods were 39%, 64%, and 74% for TN, TP, and TSS, respectively. Exports of TN, TP, and TSS during the later monitoring period decreased by 13%, 60%, and 22%, respectively, compared to the initial 1.8-year monitoring period. These results indicated that exclusion fencing was effective at reducing pollutant exports during the first 1.8 years and that its effectiveness increased after about four years. Consequently, studies that report effectiveness during the first 2 to 4 years after exclusion likely underestimate the long-term effectiveness of the exclusion fencing. Keywords: Best management practices, Discharge monitoring, Livestock exclusion.